I Miss the Old Kanye

In the year of 2010, you couldn’t tell me that Kanye West was not one of the greatest rappers of all time. I loved the artistry in his music, his style, his flow, and the fact that he was unlike any rapper that I’ve seen prior to his debut. He was the rapper that most politicians and white people hated, mostly because he said what all black people were thinking but he didn’t give AF about how he did it. I guess you can say that he was sort of like that one person that we all know who will say anything to anyone, regardless of how uncomfortable it makes them feel. That person will tell the truth without holding back. That person was Kanye. I didn’t always agree with Kanye’s perspective or outbursts, but I respected his opinion and always felt like his intentions were good, but he just didn’t know how to properly express himself in a way that people could understand. That person that was formally known as Kanye, who now goes by the name of Ye, is no longer the same rapper that I knew and loved. Obviously, I don’t personally know who the man is, but as a fan of his brand and music, I’m sadly disappointed in the new Ye that we’ve all been seeing lately.

On September 2nd, 2005, Kanye West participated in A Concert for Hurricane Relief; an hour-long concert to raise money for the city of New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina survivors. During a live broadcast, he famously said, “George Bush does not care about black people.” Personally, I believe all politicians have their own agendas, which are not always in favor of any American person, but I simply can not understand how the same person who said this about George Bush is in support of Donald Trump. Although I wasn’t particularly in favor of Bush, I respected him as the President of United States. This was the man that Kanye felt didn’t care about black people and felt compelled to speak out against. I just can’t understand how this same man who said that George Bush doesn’t care about black people, wholeheartedly supports Donald Trump. The same Donald Trump that built his campaign on the hate that haunts this country. This man called all Mexican immigrants, criminals and rapists. He also banned all Muslims from entering this country in 2015. He called African countries, “Shit-hole countries.” He calls NFL players who protest against police brutality, “Sons of Bitches,” but proceeds to call white supremacists, “very fine people.” He has no respect for women or anyone who doesn’t reflect the image of his inner circle. This is who Kanye decides to support. In case you missed it, Kanye performed on SNL this weekend. In typical Kanye fashion, he went on a rant about how he felt wronged. He then whines to the audience about how he felt bullied because he wanted to wear a MAGA hat during his performance and some people asked him not to, and so he did it anyway. He then proceeded to call the hat a Superman cape, and said that he’s sending this message with love. Well Kanye, you can’t use a symbol of hate to represent love. It doesn’t make sense. In my opinion, the MAGA hat only represents hate. I understand Martin Luther King Jr. turning the other cheek to racism instead of using violence, but I don’t think he believed that walking around with a confederate flag would solve any problems either.

Here’s the thing about Kanye, he considers himself a free-thinker just because he chooses to do the opposite of what the majority does. He sees most of his celebrity friends using their platform to speak out against the president and most of his hate rhetoric, so he wants to be different. After all, him being different is why most of us liked him in the first place. He doesn’t actually know anything about Donald Trump’s policies or what he represents. He actually said that he doesn’t watch the news. He’s not aware of what’s going on in our country. The only reason that he supports Trump is because this man had zero political experience, but somehow has become the President of the United States. If you can recall, Kanye announced a few years back during a rant on the MTV VMA’s that he plans on running for president in 2020. He has no political experience and is clearly out of touch with what’s going on in America, but if Donald Trump can do it then so can he, right?

I wonder how much of a “free-thinker” a person really is if they decide to go right just because everyone else is going left. Are you truly thinking for yourself or are you just basing your decisions on what other people decide to do? I can’t deny the great music that Kanye has produced. Unfortunately, I can’t speak for the music that he’s put out lately, because I haven’t heard it and I don’t want to either. You are free to think and support whomever you decide. We’re also free to think that you’re a narcissistic idiot. It’s our choice. The fact that the same Kanye that rapped the lyrics on songs like New Slaves and Murder to Excellence is now in support of someone who literally is murdering the excellence of this country is saddening. Some might say, “What’s the difference between this Kanye and the old one? He’s still speaking his mind.” Well, I don’t believe he is speaking his mind. I believe he’s doing this all for attention, and to seem “out-of-the-box” and different. There’s a difference between someone speaking from the heart, and someone speaking just to get a rise out of people. I believe he’s doing the latter. He’s basically saying, “If most of the people in my culture are against Trump, then I’m going to support him!” I have more respect for the republicans who actually support Trump then I do for Kanye West. He can’t even give a straight answer as to why he likes the man. We can give him a thousand reasons as to why we don’t. What does that tell you? He’s a free thinker though, right? It doesn’t seem like he’s thinking at all, if you ask me, but it is his choice. It is also our choice to not support this Kanye anymore, either.

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Houston, TX, USA

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Asia Vallier

Born in Lafayette, Louisiana. Raised in Houston, Texas. Poetry, music, theater, and movies have always intrigued me, and all things artistic live at the core of who I am. I've always kept a composition notebook at my side at all times whether that be for journaling, writing music or writing my ideas. At some point, I realized that what I was searching for to express myself had been there all along in my writing. I hope to inspire and invoke thought into each and every one of my readers. Blessings!
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Wow! You wrote exactly what I have been thinking for months. I agree 150%. I have supported Kanye for years, even when I took backlash and insults for it. I backed him because his music is genius; he is possibly a genius on some level. And he was always honest. I didn’t agree with him many times, but I could stand by the fact he was honest when honesty wasn’t easy. But now, it just seems desperate (and a bit bipolar). Thank you for writing this!

Kanye is a white man in black face who needs the same attention he got when he ran up on stage and grabbed the microphone from Taylor Swift during an award ceremony because he didn’t think she should win. He’s a suck up.